David Morrison Pike. Wood fired ceramics.

Hello Chip,They are actually brushing the morning dew or rain off. It helps in the weighing and makes dragging the cutting bag a lighter task.I do get the freshest tea you can imagine. The first couple of weeks after I get it the flavor is FRESH. The bulk of the tea is carted off to JA, the Japanese farmers co-op. I help a little and I sell it by the pound once a year for a very limited time, mostly as a favor to the guy doing the cutting. This years harvest is over but take a look here, [url]http://togeii.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/2010-first-cut…a-very-cheap-2/[/url] .Dave

I am loading my Nanban kiln, hoping to fire before the end of the month. Here are a couple of pictures of the loading and some of pieces that are Nanban but from a different firing. The finished pieces all started out round but the clay deforms easily and these changed to fit the flow of the fire. If anyone is interested in more pictures of the loading of the kiln I have a few on my blog at http://togeii.wordpress.com/This is the first level completed.

Hello Robert,You got me on that one. It took me a few minutes of scratching my head before I scrolled down and saw the second part of your comment.The clay is from Minakuchi in Shiga. It is an extremely fine red clay that slumps easily. Easily is an understatement. When all the Gods come together it gives great color and finish. You probably know Tsujimura Shiro, Morioka Shigeyoshi and Kawabuchi Naoki. They all gave it a try and only Kawabuchi stuck with it. Too much loss in the kiln.Hopefully I will get some nice work from this first firing of my new kiln. I am keeping my fingers crossed.Dave

togei wrote:Hello Robert,You got me on that one. It took me a few minutes of scratching my head before I scrolled down and saw the second part of your comment.The clay is from Minakuchi in Shiga. It is an extremely fine red clay that slumps easily. Easily is an understatement. When all the Gods come together it gives great color and finish. You probably know Tsujimura Shiro, Morioka Shigeyoshi and Kawabuchi Naoki. They all gave it a try and only Kawabuchi stuck with it. Too much loss in the kiln.Hopefully I will get some nice work from this first firing of my new kiln. I am keeping my fingers crossed.Dave

Dave,

I can tell that it's the type of body that if you look at it the wrong way it will slump. Lately, I've been firing a Ron Meyers terra cotta body plus local additions up to around cone 6-8 with pretty good results. Perhaps a solution for you as well as it seems as though you're not after haikaburi. Awfully beautiful dirt there at any rate..... Probably killer clay for kohiki as well.

I spent some time with Tsujimura-san in 2000..... He really thinks outside the box which I like. Also when in Tokoname a few years back I met a young potter who was doing work with a blend of red Tokoname clay mixed with Shigaraki Kotou. Beautiful work as well.

Here are a few pictures of the partially unloaded first chamber of my noborigama. I fired it some months ago and was so busy finishing my other kiln I forgot to fully unload it. If you look closely you can see where a mouse has built a nest between some bowls.

I am in the 4th. day of an 8 day firing of my new kiln. If anyone would like to read more about that please see http://wp.me/p6ult-1CQHere are some pictures of a bowl I fired during my last firing. I just finished a chore yesterday of going through 14 years of work I had put aside in the thought of refiring it one day or for other reasons. This bowl came from that huge stock of work.